Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) founder Jeff Bezos has been steadily selling off a significant portion of his stake in the company, with total sales running into the billions.
According to regulatory filings, Bezos has sold approximately 31.3 million Amazon shares in 2025, totaling around $6.8 billion in value.
The transactions, spread across several dates, were made under a prearranged 10b5-1 trading plan. This type of plan enables company insiders to sell shares at predetermined intervals, thereby mitigating concerns about insider trading.
The largest chunk of Bezos’ sales came on June 27, when he sold 25 million shares for roughly $5.4 billion. The timing of the sale coincided with his widely publicized marriage to Lauren Sánchez.
Around the same period, Bezos sold another 3.3 million shares, generating approximately $736.7 million. In the latest transaction, which occurred in early July, he offloaded nearly 3 million more shares over two days, netting approximately $665.8 million.
Even after these sales, Bezos still holds approximately 905 million Amazon shares, giving him an ownership stake of between 8.8% and 9.6%, making him the company’s largest individual shareholder.
Bezos diversification plan
It’s worth noting that Bezos’ stock sales are part of a long-term diversification strategy. Historically, he has used the proceeds to fund ventures such as Blue Origin, the Bezos Earth Fund, and Day 1 Academies.
The timing of the sales comes as Amazon stock has shown some choppy movement in recent months. By press time, the stock was up 0.7% at $221.
Despite some volatility, overall sentiment around Amazon remains bullish following a strong first-quarter earnings report.
For Q1 2025, the company reported revenue of $155.7 billion, up 9% year-over-year, and a net profit of $17.1 billion. Amazon Web Services led the charge with 17% growth to $29.3 billion, while advertising revenue jumped 19% to $13.9 billion, underscoring the strength in Amazon’s high-margin segments.
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